Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to a multi-function surgical instrument including a bipolar end effector assembly and a deployable monopolar assembly.
Background of Related Art
Bipolar surgical instruments typically include two generally opposing electrodes charged to different electric potentials to selectively apply energy to tissue. Bipolar electrosurgical forceps, for example, utilize both mechanical clamping action and electrical energy to effect hemostasis by heating tissue to coagulate and/or cauterize tissue. Certain surgical procedures require more than simply coagulating and/or cauterizing tissue and rely on the unique combination of clamping pressure, precise electrosurgical energy control, and gap distance (i.e., distance between opposing jaw members when closed about tissue) to “seal” tissue. Once tissue is sealed or otherwise treated, e.g., cauterized, coagulated, desiccated, etc., it is often desirable to cut the treated tissue. Accordingly, many forceps have been designed which incorporate a knife that effectively severs the tissue after tissue treatment.
Monopolar surgical instruments, on the other hand, include an active electrode, and are used in conjunction with a remote return electrode, e.g., a return pad, to apply energy to tissue. Monopolar instruments have the ability to rapidly move through tissue and dissect through narrow tissue planes.
In some surgical procedures, it may be beneficial to use both bipolar and monopolar instrumentation, e.g., procedures where it is necessary to dissect through one or more layers of tissue in order to reach underlying tissue(s) to be treated. Further, it may be beneficial, particularly with respect to endoscopic surgical procedures, to provide a single instrument incorporating both bipolar and monopolar features, thereby obviating the need to alternatingly remove and insert the bipolar and monopolar instruments in favor of one another.
As can be appreciated, as additional functional components are added to a surgical instrument, additional deployment structures or deployment structures capable of actuating more than one component are required. However, multiple deployment structures and/or combined deployment structures may be limited by spatial constraints within the housing of the surgical instrument, functional constraints of the components (e.g., where a combined deployment structure imparts additional force requirements for deploying one or more of the components coupled thereto), and/or may overly complicate the operable components of the surgical instrument.